[SOP] Down Neck

TV Programme: The Sopranos
Season: 1
Episode: 7
Date I watched this episode: 07/03/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 14 days.

Since I resumed watching this programme I have got into it more. This was likely after reading some websites which explained what the hell was going on in the early episodes of the series, and I am starting to appreciate now the complexities of the story and situation.

I really liked this episode. It covered pretty much a single story from start to finish (excepting that scene with Tony and Christopher on the construction site, which had no relevance to anything) but which revealed a lot about the characters and their pasts. The way that Tony was looking at his own life and past through the eyes of his son was genius and very well-executed.

If anything this episode was more of a followup to the events of "College" than those of "Pax Soprana". The comparisons between the maturity of Meadow and Anthony were throughout this episode, despite the fact that the former only appeared in one scene. In terms of the season-wide arc, we are progressing towards a point where both Meadow and Anthony are going to find out the full truth. Their reaction to this will have quite an impact on the story, especially as Tony and Anthony are bonding more than anything in this episode, especially towards the end.

The flashbacks to this episode were pivotal to its execution. You really could believe that this was the young Tony Soprano. And the pace at which the story was revealed was set just right, so you could feel the full range of emotions that the young Soprano had gone through at the time, how it had shaped him and his decisions at the present time. It remains to be seen if Tony is doomed to repeat history or if there will be a suitable exit for the Soprano family.

This episode also shone a different light on Livia. Obviously we knew that Livia had grown up in the mafia lifestyle, but her ruthlessness was really highlighted here, along with her complicity in Tony's current situation. She is in general my least favourite character in the series, but gained a great deal of depth here.

There was some subtle development of the relationship between Tony and Jennifer too. Tony tells Jennifer about his Russian girlfriend which I was very surprised about. They are starting to talk more generally and frankly about the Mafia (rather than skirting around the issue or Tony making up a story), allowing Jennifer to provide more pertinent and influential advice.

I did think the scene at the table was a bit weird. I think this was the writer/director intention, but it didn't come off very well. Everyone was talking at cross-purposes and although it made the viewer sit up and concentrate, this was not the best time in the episode to try to promote that feeling.

Overall though this was a good episode and I am impressed with the direction the story and characters are developing. I was slightly disappointed not to see the hinted FBI story in this episode but I will be interested to see this in a future episode.